


Periphery

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Gen, all characters eventually, challenge fill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 10,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29780754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: Series of small fics around the March challenge. These should all stay firmly in nice/sweet.
Comments: 43
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have a really, really angsty thing forming and I needed nice things to post so you don't all kill me dead. So these should all be nice and not sad or angsty at all.

Jay leaned back in his chair and stretched, rolling his neck to work out the kinks. He really wanted to be at home in his own bed right now, seeing at it was after four in the morning, but he’d promise Blake he’d stay.

His friend had been at the office the past two night keeping up with their boss and had looked utterly exhausted.

Checking his watch, Jay decided it was time to go check in on how things were going. It was why he was here. Blake had a rule… Well, Blake had many rules, but one rule in particular was that the Secretary never be on the seventh floor alone. It was a rule with a minor footnote, one that had gotten Blake some flack in the past. The footnote was that he meant she never be on seven without a guy with her.

Daisy had laughed at him.

Nadine had given a few choice words on the subject.

As he walked down the hall, Jay remembered the evening, out at a bar together. Blake had admitted that yes, he was well aware their ex-CIA boss was probably the most capable of all of them, but there was something about a male presence that seemed to keep people from doing stupid things.

Nadine had tried to debate his logic, but to the amazement of the rest of them, Blake hadn’t batted an eye about cutting her off, not nearly as afraid of her as the junior staff in the building. He’d simply leaned close and told her that if he had the power, she wouldn’t be in the building alone either.

Her brows had shot up, but she’d not given a rebuttal, perhaps too aware of just how neurotically protective Blake could be. It wasn’t like Seven wasn’t safe, it required a special keycard to get on the floor and that was after needing to get through layers of security to get into the building. Seven was essentially a fortress, how much trouble could anyone get into up here.

It hardly mattered anyway because the two women were often both in the office after hours together. Their friendship now was a far cry from the almost outright hostility between them in the early days.

Cutting through the waiting area, Jay headed for the office to check on them both. He stepped in and then froze. The office was both empty and silent.

Blake was going to kill him.

Visions of how that phone call would go, admitting that he lost both the Secretary _and_ Nadine, rushed through his head before he took a breath.

Backing out of the room, Jay reminded himself to keep calm and rational. He would’ve heard the elevator if the doors had opened, therefore no one had come onto or off of the floor. Silently, he walked toward the main hall and Blake’s desk, the hub of the floor. The pocket doors to the conference room were closed, odd enough to warrant investigation.

Slipping through the vestibule doors, Jay peeked inside and paused.

The solid wood table in the conference room was a dependable mix of craftsmanship and function. Sure, it allowed for dozens of people to take part in a meeting together, but according to the Secretary’s security detail, it also made for a safe place to take cover.

It was an odd and somewhat disturbing fact to know.

In his years, Jay had seen that table surrounded by good friends and despised enemies. He’d seen white-hot anger and belly laughs that’d led to tears. He’d seen good news celebrated and bad news mourned.

He could remember finding Nadine at the far end of that table, an hour of the night much like this one, the night Vincent Marsh’s plane had gone down. She’d not said a word and he’d not asked, he’d simply sat with her for hours. He hadn’t known at the time that she’d been mourning the loss of a lover.

A year later, he watched all of them fall apart when the Secretary had vanished in Iran and then had watched again at the relief when Nadine had rushed in saying she was safe.

He’d eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner at that table… Sometimes all three in a single day. He’d stolen someone’s food there, and had his stolen. He’d nursed hangovers and heartbreaks there.

The table was, in a weird sort of way, their bar. It was their gathering place when they didn’t want to be alone.

It had held mountains of binders and stacks of pizza boxes; it’d worn coffee spills and ink smudges and one dent about two thirds of the way down that they didn’t discuss from where a baseball had connected with the surface.

It’d been leaned against, sat on, and laid on.

He knew it had witnessed more than a few hissed fights and suspected it had seen at least a few kisses.

He didn’t ask what else it might’ve seen.

The table was almost a member of the staff. It knew their secrets better than any one person. And tonight… Tonight it had one more story to carry.

A story of two women, habitual perchers, who had probably started simply sitting on the table, paperwork between them. Both on night three of searching for a solution. At some point, Jay suspected they’d leaned to the side, allowing an arm to bear their exhausted weights. And then perhaps an elbow.

Now the table had a new task to fulfill. Unsuspecting bed.

Pulling out his phone, Jay typed a quick message to his friend, knowing the other man would be waking soon and would instantly want an update. _All is well, they’re both asleep._ Backing out of the room, Jay pulled the doors shut for good measure. There was no reason to linger and watch, the table had it all under control.


	2. Chapter 2

The press room was empty. Daisy sat in the middle, staring at the small platform and the podium on it. She’d spent years standing behind a podium, first as the voice of Vincent Marsh’s State Department and then as the voice of Elizabeth McCord’s.

Somewhere along the way, it began to feel like she was the voice of Elizabeth McCord herself. The face and filter between the woman and the world. It was a heavy burden to bear.

Now she was the voice again, both for the woman and the position she held. President of the United States. It would fall on her to clearly explain to the entire world America’s plans for everything.

No pressure.

The podium wasn’t even all that exciting. Basic, wood, functional. It could easily be replaced with millions of others just like it and really, no one would be any the wiser. It was simple and unassuming. Something she wished she could be.

“There you are!” Daisy looked up. Nadine was wandering in, dressed in black jeans and a loose green blouse, casual and relaxed much like the smile that was blossoming on her face. “I’d wondered where you’d gone.”

There was something calming about having her old friend around through the transition. There was stability in knowing she was there. A talisman.

Kind of like the podium.

No matter her nerves now, once she stood on that platform and had that wood under her palms, the nerves would vanish. She’d be able to breathe, the podium acting as a shield before her.

“I was just thinking.”

“About?” Her curiosity was clear.

“Nothing.” She laughed a bit, shaking her head. “It was nothing.”

Nadine didn’t look convinced. “I don’t believe you, but okay.” The way she turned back to the door looked almost like a dance. “I got fried chicken and sides brought in, I was about to tell Elizabeth. Come eat.” Nadine had been the first to put the White House chef in her place about feeding Elizabeth and bringing food in.

Daisy’s laughter was honest this time. “I’ll be right there.” She watched Nadine exit and then walked finally up to the podium and took her spot. Her hands gripped the worn wood, seeking reassurance that she could do this. “My name is Daisy Grant…”


	3. Chapter 3

He’d never sat there before.

Russell did a full circle of it, not touching it once.

Two presidents. Nine years. Never once had he done it.

Of all the ballsy things he’d done in his time in this building… _That_ had never been one of them.

Conrad’s staff had all held a certain degree of professionalism. No one ever was overly familiar with one another. But Bess… Bess’s staff was something entirely different.

He’d spent years watching some of them take such liberties at the Truman, but it had still shocked him the first time he’d seen it happen in the Oval. Not that he’d had to wait long.

After the Inauguration, he’d ridden back as part of the transfer team with Henry, Elizabeth, and ever-present Blake. The couple had sank into one of the sofas, himself across, to simply enjoy a few seconds of peace, but Blake had already gotten to work. When Russell had look up, Blake was sitting behind the Resolute desk like he belonged there.

It’d thrown him, but Bess hadn’t batted an eye.

The next time was months later when he’d come back to help as her interim Chief of Staff. He’d strolled right past Blake, who for once didn’t make a peep, and stopped short. Mike Barnow was in her chair, feet up on the desk as he read some report that had been laying there.

Since then, he’d seen Jay do it too, in recent days as they were handing over the position, but he himself? He’d never once sat in that chair.

He’d feared someone would think he was wanting the power that came with it. But then… Since he’d been pulled into Bess’s inner circle, he’d learned something. He’d learned how small a chair could make someone look. How tired it could make someone appear.

He would swear there was almost relief in her eyes when someone else sat in it for just a few minutes. As if she could at least pretend to shed the weight of the job.

Rounding the desk again, Russell pushed the chair back and sat down. It was a new view.

He’d never sat here before.


	4. Chapter 4

Nadine walked from her office clear into Elizabeth’s without looking up from the briefing book in her hands. It was a practiced art- part habit, part spatial awareness, and part everyone knew to stay out of her way.

Eight steps through the open doorway, she glanced up over the thin rims of her glasses, not raising her face. It was only enough to make certain the room wasn’t empty before she began to speak. That she’d had to learn since Elizabeth had taken over, given the other woman’s penchant for hiding away.

“Ma’am, I was just reviewing this and…” She trailed off, lifting her head fully and staring, not at her boss, but at her boss’s desk.

It was cleared of any files and the morning light shone off the waxed surface, perfectly uninterrupted except for the thin crack right over the unsupported center.

The crack right in front of where the chair fit in.

It ran maybe a third of the way across and then stopped.

From the crack, Nadine’s eyes slowly lifted to meet Elizabeth’s. She swallowed and tried to start again. “Ma’am… I was just…” She couldn’t remember why she’d come in now. “Ma’am, I…”

When it became obvious Nadine wasn’t going to finish, Elizabeth spoke. “Nadine? Is something wrong?”

“H- how did… Your desk is cracked.”

Elizabeth flushed bright red.

_Oh._

Nadine’s confused shock shifted swiftly into a highly amused, knowing, smirk.

“Don’t you dare give me that look!” Elizabeth tried to cut her off at the pass.

Forgotten now, Nadine tucked the book against her chest and folded her arms around it, slowly walking the remaining distance across the room. “You know? Six years and Vincent and I managed to never break that desk.” She laughed to herself and ducked her head before tipping it enough to see Elizabeth again.

Elizabeth’s eyes dropped instantly to the surface between them as if she’d never done the math before about the affair she was aware of and the furniture in her office. “…Oh.” She slowly lifted her fingers from the surface.

Nadine laughed out loud. Turning to walk away, she was already planning the excuse to get the desk replaced as she tossed a parting comment over her shoulder. “If it’s going to bother you, I’d advise not touching the table next door either.”


	5. Chapter 5

He gave a nervous laugh and nodded, hoping to sound convincing. “I’ve got it. Don’t worry.”

“Are you sure?” He watched Daisy anxiously look down the hall and then back at him, lower lip between her teeth. “This was a horrible idea, why did I think I could do this?”

His hand landed reassuringly on her shoulder. “We’ll be fine. Go. Everything is calm here.” Behind him, Johanna began to fuss. “I’ve got her, you deal with the reporters that are crying. Compared to all of them, how hard can one baby be?”

“I’ll make it fast.”

“It’ll take as long as it takes.” Matt watched her nod and then back out of the room. Once she was gone, he turned to Johanna and lifted her out of the tiny portable cot in the corner, cradling her against his shoulder. “Here we go, baby girl. Uncle Matty has you now and everything will be just fine while Mommy is working.”

He bounced her a bit and then found a rhythm of swaying as he gathered a burp cloth and pacifier. “You know, when I was a baby, my Mommy had a little cot for me too. I went a lot of places with her and she would lay me down where I got to watch everything.” He walked the room in a slow circle.

“Think of all the things you’ll get to watch from your little cot. You will get to see how your Mommy is strong and tough.” He laughed. “You’ll get to see Uncle Matty get in lots of trouble… You have a front row seat to a lot of history, you just don’t know it yet. Mommy and Uncle Jay and all of us, we try really hard to change the world. And if Mommy isn’t enough of a role model for you? You have Auntie Elizabeth. We all call her MSec and Chloe does too, but by the time you can talk?” He leaned close and whispered against her hair. “You might be the first one to call her MPres. Who knows? I know you think being held is the best, but that little cot of yours? You’re going to have a front row seat to history.”

Someone passing in the hall made him turn for just a moment, thinking Daisy was back already. It was only an under staffer rushing along.

“I thought I had a pretty awesome little cot when I was a baby. I got to watch my mommy do so many amazing things. But you? I think you have the best one in the world.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been told I owe a bunch of fluffy things now for my crimes of sadness. So if you have an item and a person/people that would fit in here, let me know and so long as I can keep it sweet, it will get witten.

“You didn’t have to do this. I could’ve just gotten a cab.”

Nadine held the door open with her foot. “Nonsense. And, no. You couldn’t.” She pivoted, deftly moving everything in her hands so the door would close and latch on its own. “Go put her in her crib and then sit for a minute.” Trailing behind Daisy, she piled the bags that’d come home from the hospital into the table. “I’ll run down and get everything else for the car in a bit.” When she realized Daisy hadn’t moved, she smiled, remembering her own early days as a new mother. “Daisy?”

“Right. I’ll just…” Daisy headed for the bedroom and laid Johanna in the massive crib and then just stared. She hadn’t been in a different room to her daughter in the two days since she’d been born, but now… Now she was going to leave her sleeping baby all alone. It didn’t feel right. She wanted to scoop Johanna up and carry her back with her. Her arms itched to hold her again.

Daisy hadn’t realized just how long she’d stood there until Nadine was beside her, her voice gentle. “She’s fine, Daisy.” She touched her arm. “That crib is the safest place for her.”

“How can I just leave her in here alone?”

“I know it feel that way now, but you need time for you as well.” With gentle pressure, she got Daisy to back up just a bit. “I remember when I finally got Roman’s crib.” She paused, not wanting to fill the day with her ruminating over her own past.

“Nadine?”

She looked from Johanna up to her. “He didn’t have a crib right away. I couldn’t afford it.” She felt ashamed to admit it, even now. “He slept in a laundry basket for a few months. But then he started to roll and I had to figure something out. A lady two floors down in the apartment I lived in, she had this old, painted crib. The paint was chipping. Looking back, it was probably a deathtrap in multiple ways, no doubt it was lead based paint and it had these thin spindles that wiggled a bit in their slots. It was still the safest place for him. That crib gave me the freedom to eat a meal, to shower properly, to… to sleep.”

“So, I should trust the crib to protect Johanna.”

Nadine smiled and nodded. “Yes. She’s safe and you can take a break. She’s in the safest crib, no loose parts or chipping lead paint. She’s not in a laundry basket sitting on the bed.” Slowly, she began to guide Daisy back into the other room. “That urge to run back and scoop her up, it’ll never go away.”

“I’ll just get better at ignoring it?” Daisy laughed a bit.

“Some days.” She headed for the kitchen. “I’m making lunch, so relax and think about things that aren’t Johanna.” She watched Daisy sit. “How are you doing?”

“Sore. They really downplay the realities of childbirth, don’t they?”

Nadine laughed out loud. “Opening sequence, remember?”

“I get the reference now.”

She didn’t comment again until she appeared with a plate of sandwiches. “Just wait until your milk comes in. Pain takes on a whole new meaning you can’t even grasp yet.” She caught Daisy’s disbelieving look. “I went from barely an A to a solid D. I was pretty certain at the time it was worse than childbirth. It didn’t help that Roman wouldn’t latched when I was engorged and if I couldn’t afford a crib, I really couldn’t afford anything that approximated a pump that was available then.” She chuckled. “You’re fine though. You have plenty of people around to help out and you have a good job, things I lacked. And that makes a difference to the whole experience.”

“And I have you?”

“And you have me, yes. For the time being, you get the benefit of my recent retirement.”

Daisy worked on the sandwiches for a bit, enjoying the quiet. “So, is that why you made everyone pitch in to buy me a crib? Because you didn’t have one?”

Nadine looked almost caught out for a second before relaxing with a nod. “Yes. I wanted to be certain you had a safe place for Johanna that you’d never have to worry about.”

“I appreciate it.” The quiet was broken by Johanna’s tiny cries. Daisy put down her meal and started to stand.

“No, sit and eat.” Nadine was already on her feet. “I’ll handle it. I’ll keep her safe.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Nadine and kitchen/Nadine in the kitchen with Chloe.

“Daddy just buys cookies. Can’t we just buy cookies?” Chloe leaned against Nadine’s side, peering up with wide eyes.

Smiling, Nadine brushed back Chloe’s hair a bit, cupping the back of her head. “We could, I suppose. But…” She gave her a conspiratorial look. “Making them tastes a lot better and you know what else?” She bent down so they were nearly nose to nose.

“What?”

“It makes a bigger mess when we make them ourselves. I think that’s more fun.” When the little girl laughed, she tapped the end of her nose. “Now. You’re going to help me, so you’ll need to be up here.” She straightened up and put her hands out. “Hop up.”

Chloe jumped a bit and Nadine used the momentum to lift her and set her on the counter. “I get to sit up here?”

“You do!” She turned to find the stand mixer in a cabinet. “Don’t fall.”

Chloe leaned forward just enough to look at the floor. “Daddy doesn’t let me sit on our kitchen counter.”

From within a bottom cabinet, Nadine replied. “Your daddy doesn’t understand what it’s like to be short.” With a huff, she wrestled the mixer into place, locking on the bowl and digging out a mixing blade. “Rule, Chloe. No fingers in the bowl until I say so, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, what kind of cookies should we make? What kind of cookies does Chloe like?”

Comically, Chloe wiggled around, looking to the ceiling as she thought hard. “Chocolate cookies!”

Nadine laughed. “I should have guessed. Let me see if I have the right chocolate for chocolate cookies.” She left Chloe sitting on the island and went to the pantry, pulling out flour and sugar as she searched for the baking chocolate. “Oh, Chloe, we’re in luck! We can make chocolate cookies. And the ones I make, they are extra messy. Would you like to make extra messy cookies?”

“Yes!” She clapped.

“I’ll do some parts and then I tell you what, we have four eggs to crack, I’ll let you crack them. Does daddy let you crack eggs?”

“No. He says I’ll get shell in them.”

“Well, if you do, then we’ll just take it out.” With a practiced hand, Nadine added sugar, oil and everything else to the bowl and let it mix a minute before turning the mixer off. Finding a bowl, she placed it beside Chloe before pulling a carton of eggs from the fridge. “We need four.”

Chloe messily cracked four eggs into the bowl, only getting a small amount of shell in which Nadine carefully fished out before adding the eggs to the mixer and letting it run.

“Hands out, no touching and no licking. Wash time.” With her clean arm and hand, she scooped Chloe off the counter and carried her to the sink, using her wrist to start the water before balancing the girl and grabbing the soap. “We scrub. No egg slime left behind.”

“You said slime!” Chloe cackled.

“I did. The insides of an egg are slimy.” Once they were both clean, she carried Chloe back. “And look, now we have cookie batter.”

Peering into the bowl, Chloe grinned. “Cookie guts. Smooshy, gooey cookie guts.”

“It is smooshy and gooey, isn’t it? Well, we’re not done with them yet.”

By the time they were done making cookie balls and rolling them in powdered sugar, both of them were coated in white. The oven sounded that it had reached temperature and Nadine pulled Chloe down so she was standing. “Go in the other room while I open the oven, please. I’ll be just a second.”

“Okay!” Chloe scurried away.

The cookies would only take eight minutes to bake, not enough time to start something else, so Nadine worked on clearing up the kitchen, listening for Chloe as she quickly licked the mixing blade clean before adding it to the dishwasher.

The timer went off and Nadine pulled the trays to cool and then went in search of Jay’s daughter. In the living room, Nadine burst out laughing. Somehow, she’d forgotten all about Chloe’s powdered sugar covered hands and now her couch, chairs, and tables all wore the white marks of a pair of little hands. She checked her own hands and realized they, as well as her clothes, we white too. She probably had smears of white on her face as well.

Sinking onto the couch, Nadine patted the cushion. “Come up her, Sweetie. The cookies have to cool off, so how about we snuggle for a bit, hmm?”

Chloe scrambled into Nadine’s arms.

It was where Jay found them both ten minutes later when he let himself in, dozing on the couch. Bracing himself on what looked like the only clean spot beside Nadine’s head, he leaned in and kissed his daughter’s hair before gently kissing Nadine’s lips to wake her. “I’m back.” He chuckled as she blinked awake. “What’d I miss?”

Nadine gave him a soft smile, keeping Chloe in place with one hand as she reached for his tie with the other, pulling him close. “We made cookies.” She tugged again, returning his lips to hers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is a tad out of the realm and not totally fluffy, but it's going here anyway.

The elevator dinged just before the doors slid open. She was almost a half hour late getting back from lunch, but it wasn’t like there was anyone brave enough to call her on it. Taking slow, measured steps, Nadine walked at half her usual speed in the direction of her office. She could just rearrange her schedule and stay at her desk and no one would be any the wiser.

“Nadine! There you are!” Blake’s raised voice carried down the hall just as her hand hit the handle of her door. Blake. The one person who _would_ notice that she was off schedule and who _would_ interrogate it.

Great.

“Blake. I’m a little busy right now-”

“I know, you should’ve been back half an hour ago which means I expected you back about forty-five minutes ago.” As she gingerly entered her office, he followed. “The Secretary is wanting to reschedule-” He cut off suddenly, staring at her.

Attempting to twist out of her coat, Nadine winced as she felt something pull along her side and back.

“Nadine?”

She looked over her shoulder at him, recognizing the mother-hen look on his face. “I’m fine, Blake. What is the Secretary trying to reschedule?” Delicately, she used her left hand to hang up her coat on the rack before striding slowly to her desk, keeping her right elbow close to her body. “Blake?”

“…Russia. She- She wants to reschedule Russia and… What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Carefully, she sat in her chair. “Why is she wanting to reschedule Russia? We don’t normally do IOUs for our nuclear adversaries.” She reached for her pen and frowned. She really liked the blazer, but it severely limited her range of motion. Focusing on keeping her breathing even, she shimmied out of it. “Blake?” She tried to redirect his obvious growing concern. She needed to nip it in the bud before he started treating her like he did their boss.

“She- she said she needed to make a new proposal about conflict in Eastern Europe first and needed forty-either hours. I have been arguing against it.” As he spoke, he took several steps closer to her desk. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Blake, don’t you have a desk to get back to?” She tried to make it sound sharp as she reached again for her pen. She never outright snapped or shouted at Blake, but there were definitely days where the urge was there.

He gasped, rushing the remaining distance to her right side, lifting her arm. “Is that- is that blood?!”

She tried to twist out of his grasp, but he held tight to her arm as his other hand didn’t hesitate to pull up the hem of her blouse, untucking it from her pants as he ignored her indignant “Hey!”

“It _is_ blood! What the hell happened?!” He was more insistent now, really looking her over. “There are bruises too!”

“I’m fine.” She smacked his hand away. “Get back to work.” This time she aimed her best death glare at him, the one that even made Russell Jackson wilt.

It didn’t even make Blake blink. “You are bruised and bleeding, forgive me if I call bullshit to you being fine.”

“It’s a little scratch, it’ll heal.”

“Have you seen it?!”

“You’re overreacting and you’re starting to irritate me.” He was still knelt down so they were eye to eye. “Leave it alone, Blake.”

He stood up, staring down at her. “Tell me what happened or I march back down the hall and tell the Secretary that cancelling on Russia is fine because her Chief of Staff is in here bleeding out.”

“I thought it was a reschedule, not a cancel, and I’m not _bleeding out_.”

“That nuance may be lost on her.”

Her huff ended in a low growl.

He sat on the couch. “What happened?”

“I went out to lunch like I planned but Walton Anselman that you’ve been stonewalling for six months tracked me down.” She sighed. “He thought the way to get the Secretary’s time was to corner me on the street and try and beat me into granting what he wanted.”

“He _hit_ you?!”

“Well… Not exactly. There was shoving and some grabbing and I think the cut on my side was from a broken bottle that’d been in the alley.”

“This is just getting worse and worse.” He covered his mouth with a hand.

“He didn’t _hurt_ me-”

“What?!”

“He didn’t…” She swallowed. “He knocked me around a bit, bit deal. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last. It’s cuts and bruises.”

“So, because he didn’t… _you know_ you, it’s perfectly fine?” He launched to her feet and she’d flinched in response before she could even contain it. He didn’t miss it though. “You need it looked at. Broken bottle? You might need stitches. And you clearly need to tell someone the truth about what he did, because whatever that was wasn’t it.” He headed for the door. “I’m getting the Secretary.”

“It wasn’t a lie and sit back down!”

“You need help. Medical help. And a body guard.”

“Like hell I do!”

A tap on the glass interrupted his next thought. He pulled the door open an inch.

“Getting kind of loud in here. Is there a problem?” Jay asked.

“Can you tell the Secretary to come down here immediately?”

“Don’t you dare!”

Jay looked between them, unsure who to obey.

“Now, Jay.” Blake pushed before looking back to Nadine. “Someone has to look out for you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Nadine & stepstool

Straining, Nadine hopped a bit, determined to catch at least the very corner of the thick binder with her finger. Failing, she made frustrated sound and turned, staring at her desk until she spotted a pen. Snatching the pen, she tried again this time catching the corner of the binder but still failing to move it.

The binder was wedged in too tight.

She threw the pen back at her desk, not caring when it skittered across and clattered to the floor on the other side. She needed that binder down so she could finish working on the latest inducement package.

Debating, she grabbed her desk chair and pushed the back of it against the cabinet, kicking off her shoes before climbing to stand on the seat. With a triumphant sound, she found herself now tall enough to grab what she was after.

The binder wouldn’t budge.

Bracing her left hand on the smooth edge of the metal cabinet, she did her best to yank with her right. It was stuck. Shifting, she grabbed it with both hands and prepared to dislodge it by yanking as hard as she could backward.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Jay’s voice startled her so much, she off-balanced, the chair moving and rolling a bit beneath her feet. Arms thrown out to her sides, Nadine did her best to try and regain her balance as she started to fall with a cry, already anticipating the pain that would follow.

Large hands caught her around her sides, stopping her movement and then they slowly pulled back, getting her to step back to the ground. “Are you insane?” Jay turned her around and then nudged her to the small sofa.

“I need that binder, it’s stuck.”

He put his hand out to stop her moving. “Sit. I’ll get it.” Jay wrestled the desk chair back where it belonged and then yanked the binder free, placing it on her desk. “A chair that swivels and is on casters doesn’t not a good stepstool make. Admit it, I just saved you an emergency room visit, didn’t I?”

Nadine frowned. “You almost caused me an emergency room visit by scaring me half to death.”

He was already shaking his head. “I saw what you were about to do. You were going to just yank it as hard as you could and the next thing any of us would’ve found would’ve been you on the floor. No more climbing on things, Nadine.”

“I have been climbing to reach things my entire life, Jay. I know what I’m doing.”

“No more climbing, Nadine.” He made it more insistent. “If you need something, ask one of us and we’ll get it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He hung his head a second, rubbing his forehead with one hand. “Tell you what. Tell me you weren’t terrified just then of hitting the ground, of how much pain you were about to be in and- and I’ll drop it.” When he saw her start to speak, he interrupted. “Look me dead in the eye and tell me you weren’t terrified you were about to dislocate or break something.”

She looked him dead in the eye, angry that he was pushing this, but found she couldn’t say the words. Pressing her lips together, she licked her lips as her eyes returned to the floor. “I- I can’t say that.”

“Nadine?”

Eventually, she looked up at him.

“No chair, please ask for help. If that’s too hard I’ll- I’ll go buy you a stepstool. Just… don’t do this again. Please.”

“… Fine.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Nadine & Valentine flowers (bets on)

“Hey hey hey!” Blake chased Matt down as he rushed into the conference room. “You haven’t made your bet yet. If you don’t today then you’re sitting it out.”

Matt made a disbelieving noise. “But Valentine’s Day isn’t until next Friday!”

“You _know_ deliveries can be made all week.” He gestured with his hand. “Come on, everyone else has put numbers in.”

“ _Everyone_?” The paperwork he’d been carrying landed on the table with a smack. “What’s taken so far?”

Blake dug out the folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket. “The secretary has nine, Daisy went a conservative five… Jay upped his guess from last year and said fourteen. Maggie has eight and a request that we not let it get out she placed one. Adele got back to me with her and Russell’s numbers at ten and six respectively, and Lucy wanted in and picked eleven. She said POTUS laughed but bowed out of participating.”

His brows were in his hairline. “Holy cow!”

“Oh! And Henry McCord put in on twelve.”

“Doc put in?!”

Blake nodded. “I’m waiting on answers from Frank and Matt, they promised they’d get with me later today before the ride home. I’m taking thirteen because it just feels right this year, so if you want a good center number I’d put in now.” He flapped the paper a bit. “We’re talking a five hundred dollar pot this year, Man.”

“Pot for what?” Nadine whisked in behind them, only half catching their conversation as she rounded the table to her usual seat. Dropping her own things in place she looked up at their matching deer in the headlights looks. “Oh my god. Again?! And… Seriously?! There’s a five hundred dollar pot on it?!”

Eager for any excuse to flee, Blake turned away. “My phone’s ringing!” He fled the conference room, leaving a suddenly nervous Matt standing to face her scrutiny.

“I- I haven’t actually placed a bet.”

“Yet.” She tacked on with an amused smirk.

He gave his nervous laugh. “It’s meant to all be in fun, Nadine.”

“I know.” Personally, she was delighted they cared enough to even notice. It was the one time of year when people generally forgot they were terrified of her and greeted her warmly and with a smile. And it felt good, having that little bit of attention. Not that she was ever admitting that.

“We just… The numbers… It helps up guess if we need to buy more vases.” He thought that by now they had enough. Vases were stored in various offices, the break room, even the conference room. They were available to be used all year, but their primary purpose was one week in February.

“Go place your bet, Matt, before Blake shuts you out. And I still expect the winner to take me to dinner. Somewhere nice. A pot that size, they can afford it.”

===

The count was specifically bouquets of flowers, nothing else. They didn’t count the teddy bears and the boxes of chocolates, the numbers would get too high then. They only counted the flowers.

By the end of Monday, Nadine had a bouquet of tulips in a vase plus two boxes of chocolates.

Tuesday, two bouquets of a dozen red roses joined the tulips and a very soft and expensive looking teddy bear had taken up residence on her couch.

On Wednesday, Daisy knew she was out as another two bouquets of roses appeared. The roses arrived alongside a dozen mylar balloons.

There were two days left and everyone began to wonder if this was going to be the year no one guessed a correct number.

Thursday almost gave them faith again as by three o’clock there had been no flowers at all. Five bouquets and maybe, just maybe, this was a sign the tide was turning.

At ten to six they discovered the courier had only been running behind due to the holiday. He delivered three bouquets- two carnations and one mixed flowers. Daisy, Russell, and Frank were out already. It was still a waiting game and anyone else could win.

Friday morning, Valentine’s Day, started early with everyone but the Secretary in before eight. By ten, Nadine had added four more assorted bouquets to her office and had moved her paperwork to the conference room for more space.

By noon, the bear from Tuesday now had the company of another bear, this time white, and a very inviting looking puppy. Maggie, the Secretary, and Adele were also out of the running.

At two, Maggie carried a stack of boxed chocolates to the conference room and wordlessly left them there with Nadine, who stared in slight horror at the towering pile. A minute later, Maggie returned and dug around for vases in the credenza.

“How many do you need?” Nadine reluctantly asked.

“Only…” Maggie paused. “…Only three.”

She did a mental count. “Where are you even putting them?”

“Um… Blake pulled in some chairs from the break room so they aren’t right on the floor.”

“This is insane! I swear it gets worse every year.”

“People love you, Ma’am.”

Nadine laughed. “No. They don’t…. Maggie?”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“How many am I up to?”

“Um, fourteen, Ma’am.”

“Thank you.” Fourteen bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and so very much candy that she didn’t even like. Valentine’s Day was ridiculous.

When the workday finally ended, she gathered her things and tracked down Blake. “So?”

“So… what?”

“Who won?”

“Oh, uhh… Jay. Jay won.”

She started for her office knowing Blake would follow. “Good. Tell him I said congratulations.” She was pleased it was Jay this year, he’d been doing his best raising Chloe and she thought he could use the financial help. “Tel him he doesn’t need to worry about dinner.”

“But that’s- that’s part of the deal.” It was clear he was confused.

“He doesn’t have to.” She worked around the flowers to gather her things, glancing over them with a brief smile as she returned to Blake’s side in the doorway. “And, Blake?” She gestured into the room.

“They’ll be gone by Monday.” He nodded, watching her head for the elevator empty handed, just like every year. The flowers, candy, even the toys would be passed out to various people so they didn’t go to waste.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- poker table

“It’s just a friendly game, really.” Mitch led David to the cash bar. “There isn’t really a ‘pro’ table or anything, though people tend to gravitate either to their friends or to people they need to do some business with.” It was Hill Poker night and Mitch was showing him the ropes. His eyes scanned the people gathering at the tables. “You get all kinds here.”

“And it’s for real money?”

Mitch nodded. “Not big bucks except if you get into the annual tournament, but generally you have to play in at that level.” He placed an order with the bartender. “I’ll warn you though, we have a shark or two and you never want to get in their way.”

“Who?” David turned and face the room.

“Senator George Bachman. He’s over there in the eighties suit.” Mitch pointed him out. “That’s the only one it looks like will be here tonight. We’re not sitting at his table, though. We’re going to sit with some friends I want you to meet.” Once they both had drinks, Mitch led him to the table at the furthest end of the room. “Gentlemen, David Auhzer, he’s the new policy guy in my office. David, these are John Baez from Congressman Suarez’s office, Josh Williams from Theresa Julian’s office, Alex Raymond who is now the Chief of Staff for Candlemoore, and Nick Dodd who is the Chief of Staff up our hall for Denée Smith.”

David waved to all of them. “Good to meet you.” He took one of the free chairs.

“So, we’re only six tonight?” Mitch sat down, looking around the group.

Alex craned his neck and looked around the room. “Looks like it. There’s quite a few full tables tonight.”

“It’s all those bills coming up for a vote.” Nick pointed out. “It’s business night. Looks like it’ll be a smooth sailing night, though. Who’s dealing first?”

“I’ll start us off.” Josh reached for the deck. “Everyone chipped?” He got a round of confirmations and began shuffling the cards.

“Oh, shit.” John muttered under his breath suddenly, drawing all their attention before they all followed his gaze to the door.

David stared at the woman who’d just stepped in, dressed in a plain gray dress that was sleeveless and cut just about her knee. “Who’s that?” Her eyes took in each of the tables slowly, clearly assessing everyone.

None of them answered, but Alex leaned over to Nick. “Is there a foreign aid bill up for a vote?”

Nick nodded silently.

“This isn’t good.”

“Why? Who is she?” David tried again.

“Cruella De Vil.” Nick whispered. “And she’s walking our way.”

“Shitshitshit, did we forget to do something?” Alex seemed to shrink about three inches in his chair.

Before David could ask anything else, the woman was standing behind the lone empty chair, a passive smile on her face. When she spoke, he was shocked at how deep and dangerous her voice sounded.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Mind if I join this table?” It was phrased as a question, but it was clear, even to him, that it wasn’t. Everyone nodded. “Excellent.”

David looked around the table and then around the room. The guys, who were all formerly relaxed and chatting, were not sitting perfectly straight as if they’d been scolded and were silent. At other tables, players looked relieved. He met Mitch’s eyes.

Mitch leaned over. “Shark. Makes eighties George look like a pussycat. There will be tears tonight… And not hers.”

“I don’t recognize you.”

David looked up and found himself under the woman’s piercing gaze. “I- I- I’m new. It’s- It’s my first time.”

“He’s our new Jay.” Mitch added before shrinking back when her eyes landed on him.

“No one is any kind of Jay.” Her gaze returned to David. “So you are in Senator Fillbin’s policy pool.” A hint of a smirk twitched one corner of her mouth. “Are you any good?”

“I went to Harvard, Ma’am. I-”

“That means nothing. It’s a school.” She waved it away with one finger. “Half this city went to Harvard. I asked if you were any good at foreign policy.”

He swallowed. “I- I think so.”

The hint of a smirk vanished and she reached for her glass, sipping the scotch and then looking around. “Who’s dealing first?”

“Josh has the cards.” Nick stated, clearly thinking that made the answer obvious.

Her laser-like gaze found him. “I am aware of that. As I’d hope you are aware, being in possession of something does not mean you know how to use it.” The smirk returned. “Your boss should know.”

Josh started the deal and kept quiet. David watched as the game got underway. Clearly all his fellow players, hell the whole room, knew who this woman was, but no one had introduced her to him. Through the first two rounds he thought she looked almost disinterested in the game, her bets were low and her calls were conservative.

At the first break, Mitch dragged him back to the bar. “She’s only gearing up, do not get in her way or she’ll clean house with you.”

“Who the hell is she and why is everyone so bothered by her being here for a friendly game?”

Mitch shook his head. “That’s Nadine Tolliver. Count yourself lucky you don’t know her already.” He glanced at David. “She’s Secretary McCord’s Chief of Staff and for her? That was a freaking day in the park. She is the shark’s shark.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s not here for the money, though she never loses. If you win a hand and she compliments your playing? Trust me, she’s coming to you with a demand after.”

“Wait, she did that to Alex.”

“And look.” Mitch pointed back to the table where now only Alex and Nadine remained. “Candlemoore just got moved to the Foreign Relations Committee which is who makes the calls on what _her_ boss needs pushed through.”

“But… She barely looked engaged.”

“An act. There’s a rumor she counts cards, but no one’s been brave enough to try and prove it. I heard that when she played against Senator Veradi once, he complained to the Secretary about it the next day, but she only laughed. I can’t imagine she’d have much care about her Chief doing it since she’s a Spook herself.”

“She’s really that dangerous?” He gestured back to the table with his refilled glass.

“Can be. And that table is her hunting ground. She only puts in for the tourney every few years, but the last two times wiped the floor with everyone else.”

“David Auhzer.”

Hearing his own name suddenly spoken in that deep voice made him jump and then turn. He hadn’t even seen her walk over. “Ma’am.”

She held out a business card. “You’ll need this. I am the one who makes things happen, or not happen, in this town. When you want out of Fillban’s sandbox and into the real world, call me.” She strutted away and he looked to Mitch.

“She serious?”

“Probably. She’ll poach any staffer away from anyone on the Hill just to prove she can, but the new guys like you? Hot item.”

“Why?”

“You’re unsullied by bad habits. She collects people new to the city like a crazy cat lady. I’ve heard the whole seventh floor at state is staffed out that way. Then after a year or two, they’ve learned to work her way and when they move on to other positions, people are banging at the doors for her former employees.”

“Really?”

Mitch nodded. “It’s a risk though. They all stay completely loyal to her forever. She sets a high bar for professionalism, but then every single one stays ‘her guy’. She has this city wired.”

“Do I- Do I call?”

He shrugged. “It won’t hurt your career if you don’t.”

“And if I do?”

“Just… don’t piss her off. The poker table is where she has fun.” He left the rest unsaid, turning and walking back to the table.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Mike/Nadine, my OC's artwork

Mike watched from the stove as Nadine wandered his house, glass of wine in one hand. She looked good tonight, casual, relaxed. Almost as soon as she’d come through the door, her sweater and shoes had come off, leaving her in a sleeveless top and slacks.

“You have some lovely art.”

Too busy staring, he didn’t catch it. “Sorry?”

“Art.” She twisted, looking back to see what had his attention and blushing when she realized it was herself. “I said you have some lovely artwork.”

“Ah. It’s prints mostly, not originals, but I like to get tickets any time a new exhibit comes through a museum close by.” His attention returned to the vegetables he was trying not to burn. “You collect art?”

“A bit.” Her voice faded slightly as she moved to the part of the living room he couldn’t see. “You have a Borisov?”

“Which one is that?” Turning down the heat, he wiped his hands and took a moment to stand in the doorway between the two rooms. “Oh, the river one. Yes, I have three others from that artist. You know of him?”

He watched as she frowned slightly and shook her head a bit. “Them, not him, and yes, I do.”

“Sorry.” Her correction took him a bit aback, but he carried on. “I have two other waterfront scenes like that one and then a limited run print that’s in my office.” He didn’t miss how she glanced toward the darkened room. “You can go look. I have nothing to hide.”

As she walked away, Mike returned to the food, cutting the heat entirely and setting it aside to cool enough to eat. He carried on plating the rest of dinner until he heard Nadine’s soft footsteps returning. “Ready to eat?”

“How long ago did you buy the _Red Lady_?” When he looked her way, slightly confused, she pointed toward the office.

“Um… a year ago? Why?”

Nadine shrugged one shoulder, taking one of the seats at the table and spending just a second too long putting her glass in just the right spot. “Did you see the whole exhibit they had touring then?”

“I did. He- They created some lovely pieces of the female form. You could really feel the emotion and innocence in them.” He grinned, happy to be talking about something other than work. “There was this one, the woman was sitting on this old brick wall staring out at a river. You couldn’t see her face, but it still felt so…” He tried to think of the word. “Anticipatory.”

When he looked up, she had an odd smile on her face. “You enjoyed them then.”

“Very much. I spent most of the entire day just soaking up each one. There was something… familiar to them.”

“I can believe that.”

“You’ve seen them?” He didn’t mean to sound so surprised.

“No.” She shook her head. “But then, I don’t need to.”

He didn’t understand. “Why not?”

“They’re all of me.”

Her tone was so light, so conversational and casual, that Mike took a moment to process the words. “What?!” It came out the same time the serving spoon he’d been holding clattered to the floor. “I-” He tried to clean up his mess. “Come again?”

“All of their art involving a woman in Paris is. Including that one overlooking the Seine River. Aleksi was obsessed for years with sketching me, that one in your office is one of their more popular ones. If you want it signed, I could ask them to stop by the next time they’re in town.”

The entire time she spoke, Mike just stared.

Nadine finally smiled, amusement radiating at his stunned reaction. “Mike? If you don’t believe me, go get it.”

Taking it as a challenge, Mike rushed into his office and lifted it off the wall carefully, carrying it back to the table. He looked from the print to her and back again. “This is seriously you?” He looked up to see her nod. “I- I have no words.”

Nadine reached over, pointing out a few things he’d never noticed before about it. “ _Red Lady_ is one of their early ones, they were just starting with different kinds of paints which is why, in the original anyway, you get this odd variation. They did part of it in watercolor and part in oil based. I think it gives it a nice visual texture.” She pulled away. “Don’t let the dinner get cold.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Dinner, Mike. Remember?”

“Oh, right. I’m just…” He stood, looking for a place to put the print. “I might have to find a new place to put this.”

“If you really wanted, I could get you its companion piece.”

“ _Blue Dancer_? I tried, it had a shorter print run and they cost a lot more.” He brought the plates to the table. “I was going to buy it the same weekend, but I missed the last one.”

Twirling her fork in the pasta, Nadine blushed. “I can get you a special edition signed copy.”

“I would consider it a gift.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as cell phone, but it kinda... devolved.

6:48am

**MSEC:** Coffee???

**Blake:** In my hands as we speak. I will be there in ten.

**Nadine:** She doesn’t need more coffee.

**Blake:** LOL!   
Wait.   
How do you know that?

**Nadine:** She has been texting me since three.

**Jay:** Not just you, but I was up with the baby anyway.  
Side note, when do they start sleeping through the night?

**Nadine:** High school.  
Maybe.

**Jay:** I am so tired.  
Blake, is some of that coffee for me?

**Blake:** I got you two.

**Matt:** How are any of you up this early?

11:24am

**Nadine:** Is anyone leaving for lunch today?

**Matt:** I am!

**Daisy:** I am! I’m getting as far away from this place as possible.

**Jay:** I so want to but will probably sleep in my office instead.   
Please pretend you don’t see me.

**Blake:** I am already out. MSec is on a call with Avd for the next 21 mins and I plan on enjoying them in   
peace.

**Nadine:** How did you leave without me knowing?

**Matt:** Blake is in troubleeee!

**Blake:**...I don’t answer to you?

11:44am

**Blake:** I am very sorry for that comment, Nadine.  
Please have mercy on me.

**Jay:** I was just woken up by cackling.  
What the hell did I miss??

**Blake:** Nothing!  
I am on my way back with MSec’s lunch.  
ETA 2 min

**Nadine:** Good luck getting her to eat it. I just found her eating a plate of cookies in the BR.

**Blake:** You didn’t stop her?!

**Nadine:** I don’t answer to you either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been forever since I've done a text fic, so it's all you're getting.


	14. Chapter 14

Tugging the zipper of her jacket up, Daisy double checked she had her phone and room key before slipping into the hall. It was just after one in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep.

The agents watching the hall nodded, but didn’t say a word. Not this late at night. For that, she was thankful. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk tonight.

In the elevator, she pressed the button for the ground floor, hoping a walk would help her settle down and sleep. The ride down was slow, the elevator shuddered a bit before depositing her into the dim lobby.

To her right was the desk, gleaming under pin lights recessed in the ceiling. The bar lights were low, only a lingering patron or two, and the gift shop was closed up and dark. Her sneakers squeaked on the polished floors as she followed the angled path from elevators to revolving doors.

“Going out?”

The voice, husky due to the hour but no less known to her, made her stop short, the resulting squeak of her sneakers louder this time. “I- I couldn’t sleep.” She looked to the doors, to the night beyond as it sat blanketed in darkness between the streetlights. “I was going to take a walk.”

“Why can’t you sleep?”

The lobby lights were low, casting odd shadows off the furniture and leaving Nadine mostly hidden in the darkness as she sat curled into a chair. A book lay in her lap, page marked by her fingers hooked over the top as it was folded closed. Daisy wondered how long she’d been down here. “I don’t know.”

She heard her inhale through her nose and expected something. Anything. A reminder of the early hour they had to be up, some comment on letting things get to her, perhaps an observation about how she’d been doing her job. At the least, a reminder about being a woman alone walking at night. “Enjoy your walk.” Between the shadows, she opened the book again.

Daisy turned, another step toward the exit, before turning back. “Do you ever get nightmares?”

There was a hint of shine where the pin lights caught on her eyes. The book shifted, a strip of paper acting as a bookmark slipped into place and then the book closed, finding itself tucked into the side of the chair. “What kind of nightmares?”

It was her turn to draw a breath but say nothing right away. She took one step closer but then stopped. “About the people we didn’t save… About not saving the people we did… About…”

“… About the million ways it could all go wrong?”

Daisy ducked her head, saying nothing.

When she finally started to answer, Daisy could hear a hint of amusement in her first words. “When I started this job, you were barely out of diapers.”

Despite the lingering mood, Daisy smiled.

“I have seen… hell. I have seen lives sacrificed for the greater good. I have seen people played like pawns in some game they couldn’t control. I’ve… I’ve seen people die senselessly. Bombings, hangings, shootings. I’ve have known and lost good men and women who held their heads high as they walked to their deaths. Some for righteous reasons, some because their only remaining choice was to die that way, some… Some because they kept someone else from dying.”

“So…”

“More than I’d like to admit.”

Somehow, she wasn’t expecting her to actually admit it. “How do you cope?”

Her scoff sounded loud in the deserted lobby. “At your age? Losing myself in alcohol and sex.” Daisy realized she must’ve made a face because laughter followed. “Feel free to skip my early coping mechanisms.”

“Yeah.”

“Walking helps.” She held up the book. “Some nights I stay up reading… Talking it out helps too.”

Daisy nodded.

“What’s keeping you up tonight?”

She drew a breath and realized there were tears in it. “All those kids.” If the lobby had been filled with the daytime crowds, she probably wouldn’t have been heard.

“Kids are always the worst part. Innocence snuffed out so tragically.”

“I dreamed I was trying to save them all, but each time I grabbed one, they turned into a skeleton that crumbled in my hands, but… But they kept screaming.”

The book slid back into its spot and then Daisy watched her unfold and then stand. It was then that she realized that she too was in yoga pants and a hoodie. “Come.” Her arms spread wide and Daisy fell into them, allowing herself to be held tight. “You will get through it, I promise. They don’t last forever.”

“But there will always be another crisis.”

She pulled back, looking up. At this distance, Daisy finally had a good look at her standing there so dressed down, no make-up and her hair in short braided pigtails. “Would you rather leave handling them to strangers and live your life unable to have any say in the possible outcomes?”

She’d never considered before what the alternative was. “No. I’d rather being doing all I can.”

“I thought so.” She backed away. “Come sit. You’ll like this book I’ve been reading.”

“But- you’re reading it…”

“I’ll read it aloud, you just sit and relax.”

Taking the chair to one side, Daisy watched as she folded back into her own once again, pulling the book out and starting back on the first page. As she began to read, Daisy let her eyes fall shut, cadence and tone helping to wash away the lingering hints of her nightmares, replacing them with visions of water and sky.


End file.
